Hold Congress Accountable

Knowledge is power. It makes sure people understand what is happening to their country, and how they can make a difference. FreedomWorks University will give you the tools to understand economics, the workings of government, the history of the American legal system, and the most important debates facing our nation today. Enroll in FreedomWorks University today!

Search FreedomWorks

Resources

Blog

Top 8 Ways Young Women are Hurt By ObamaCare

Cosmopolitan online magazine has published an article titled, “Top 8 Ways Young Women Benefit from ObamaCare” by Senior Correspondent for Kaiser Health News, Phil Galewitz. The misguided list seems to be a desperate attempt to get most young women (like myself) to act against their own interests by signing up for ObamaCare. Young women deserve to know the truth about their health care options. Here’s a quick list of what’s so bad about ObamaCare, especially for young women:

1. ObamaCare Treats Grown Women Like Children

Phil Galewitz patronizingly touts that, “You can stay on your parents’ health policy until you turn 26” even if you’re married. Is still being dependent on mom and dad something to celebrate? ObamaCare requires health insurance companies to provide coverage for the customers’ “adult children” (actual demeaning term used in the legislation!) until age 26. Excussseeeee me, but women in our mid-20’s are not children. Whatever happened to Cosmopolitan magazine promoting female empowerment and independence? Plus, Galewitz doesn’t mention that the under-26 mandate has increased families’ insurance premiums by $151 to $452 per year. Simply, it cost more money to insure more people. This is the basic economic principle called: you don’t get something for nothing. Of course, you can’t get covered on your parents’ plan if they lose their health insurance (see #5).

2. “Free” Birth Control Costs A Lot of Money

Phil Galewitz writes, “You’re entitled to free preventive care, including birth control.” That sounds great at first. Who doesn’t love getting free stuff?! But to paraphrase late economist Milton Friedman, TNSTAFBC: there’s no such thing as free birth control. ObamaCare requires all insurance plans to cover all FDA-approved brand name contraceptives and procedures. Well, funny thing, covering more expensive forms of birth control costs more money. There may be no co-pays at the doctor office’s counter, but everyone will have to pay higher insurance premiums. Not exactly “free.” It doesn’t matter your contraceptive of choice or if you don’t use any form of birth control. Shouldn’t young women be allowed to pick the affordable insurance plan that best meets their birth control needs?

3. ObamaCare Health Insurance Exchanges Are a Bad Deal for Young People

Phil Galewitz tries his best to sell young women on the ObamaCare health insurance exchanges. A dirty little secret is that ObamaCare’s success is completely dependent on young people opting into the unfair system. The way that the ObamaCare exchanges are set up is that young and relatively healthy people will be subsidizing the health care costs of old and unhealthy people. Sixty-four-year-olds typically spend six times as much on health care as 18-year-olds. This means that young women that rarely see a doctor will see their health insurance costs skyrocket in the system! Pro tip: If you’re a single childless adult, you’ll save at least $500 by not opting into the insurance exchange and paying the government fine instead.

4. You’ll Pay More For Things You Don’t Want

Phil Galewitz says that all health insurance plans will be required to cover maternity care, mental health services, and preventive services. What if you don’t want or need these things? Well, too bad. Maternity coverage will be mandatory—even for men. Women who do not plan on having children will have to pay extra for maternity benefits. Adding coverage for things that some people do not want will only increase insurance costs for everyone. Shouldn’t women that do not want kids or any mental health counseling be allowed to choose a cheaper plan that makes sense for them?

5. You May Lose Your Insurance Coverage

Phil Galewitz writes about all the benefits and coverage that insurance policies must provide under the law. It’s interesting what he does not mention: the number of people who will lose their health insurance. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, seven million people will lose their job-based health insurance coverage because of the law. Due to the mandates in the law, employers will find it much cheaper to pay the penalty for not offering coverage than to offer health benefits. Many young women just starting their careers will be dumped since it will primarily affect low-income workers.

6. Healthy People Will Be Charged More

Cosmopolitan magazine is full of helpful exercising, diet, and health tips. Some young women readers may be surprised to learn that insurance companies will not be allowed to give them a discount for making good health choices. Phil Galewitz explains, “health premiums may vary based on three factors only: age, where you live, and whether you’re a smoker.” Shouldn’t young women get some benefits for eating healthy and staying fit?

7. ObamaCare Will Make More Women Dependent

Phil Galewitz boasts that Medicaid will be expanded to people currently making too much money to qualify for the program. Medicaid is the government health care entitlement program for the poor. Many states have already wisely rejected the expansion because they can’t afford its huge price tag. Encouraging young women to be dependent on the government is not exactly a message of female empowerment. It would be nice to see a top women’s magazine inspire women to be strong, independent, and leaders in our society. 8. You May Lose Your Job or Get Your Hours Reduced

Phil Galewitz writes that employers are required to give women “reasonable break time” to pump breast milk while at their jobs. What about the women who will not have a job because of ObamaCare? The unemployment rate for young women aged 16 to 24 is 13.9 percent. ObamaCare is making it harder to find a job by causing employers to eliminate jobs, especially entry level positions. Employers are avoiding new hires because they don’t know how exactly the law will be enforced and the employer mandate that punishes businesses with over 50 full-time employees. With “full time” defined as 30 or more hours a week, many businesses are reducing workers’ hours to 29 hours or below to avoid the expense. More young women are focused on actually getting a job—rather than work breaks.

Margo Jacobs. I pay into medicare every week. I pay into social security every week. We are not complaining about medicare and social security. I have just found out that I will have to come up with an additional 800.00 a month to cover my families health insurance premiums because of this new affordable care nonsense. Since my husband's job offers insurance, we are not eligible for any subsidies, tax credits, or Medicaid or the children's health insurance program. I will now be paying 960.00 a month for our insurance, and I will still be paying into medicare and social security. We live on very limited means. I don't even spend 800.00 a month on food. We already have cut down our bills as much as possible. We have no tv, no cell phones, we live in tx and don't use a/c in the summer, I have a family of 5 living in a 2 bedroom house that is smaller than most apartments because we can't afford anything bigger, I dn't remember a month when I had 800.00 left to spend and now I have to come up with an additional 800.00 a month some how. Please tell me how this is affordable. Please tell me why I should shut up and not whine about it. I have to decide if I am going to purchase the health insurance that we can't afford to use or pay my car payment and put food on the table. This bill was supposed to help people. The only way I have found that we can afford this new bill is if my husband and I divorce. Then I won't have access to his health insurance at work and my kids will be eligible for chips and I will be able to receive help with my premium. This is bull and not affordable. it needs to be gotten rid of before it destroys every family in America.

based on #3 above, we should also eliminate Social Security. Young people have to pay this unfair tax don't get anything out of it. Its some old people that use it.
Lets end Social Security (and Medicare) Taxation now.

Dear Mar go Jacobs, You can enjoy your medicare and all your doctor visits, unnecessary tests, and prescriptions. I hope you enjoy living until you are 200 years old eating puree everyday. I am a young woman who agrees with this article and am thoroughly pissed about how shitty this country has become because of 1) people like you who think us young people owe u our lives and 2) the total lack of responsibility and common sense of any age group right now. I do pay medicare, I also pay for health insurance for my family. You can go st u, I hope the well runs dry before you can waste any more of the money I am paying into anything.

LOL. repeals our freedom to do what? go bankrupt if we need to be hospitalized and have no insurance? i paid into medicare my whole life without complaining, younger people can pay their pittance premiums and stfu.

The 16 states with ObamaCare exchanges have each had access to hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money from the federal government to help establish a successful marketplace. And yet, many are finding themselves struggling with high deficits and low enrollment.

As the Supreme Court mulls over arguments in the King v. Burwell case that could unravel key portions of the president’s signature health care law, the Obama administration has adopted an attitude that is remarkably cavalier.

Arkansas' experiment with Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare is quickly becoming a train wreck for taxpayers. State officials have failed to determine that beneficiaries of the program are still eligible to participate in the government health insurance program, potentially wasting millions of dollars. Knowing how government operates, it is likely that Arkansas is not the only state to fail to do its due diligence.

It’s been difficult not to notice that a lot of states are having terrible experiences with their ObamaCare exchanges. In fact, a recent Washington Post article reports that “Nearly half of the 17 insurance marketplaces set up by the states and the District under President Obama’s health law are struggling financially.”

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on King v. Burwell in June. At issue is whether the Affordable Care Act as written only allows for federal subsidies to go to enrollees in states that operate their own exchanges. Right now, 34 states rely on the federal government to operate the exchanges, meaning a significant amount of subsidies are on the line.

By passing a budget through both the House and the Senate, Congress has moved one step closer to sending a repeal of ObamaCare to the White House. The process to get there is still marked by hurdles, but nothing that can’t be overcome. However, for Congress to take the trouble, they’re going to have to hear from you all the way through the process, lest they choose the path of least resistance – that of doing nothing.

ObamaCare was supposed to reduce the cost of insurance, hence the Affordable Care Act. But is this really what it did? States with less regulations before the law was enacted had more affordable health care costs. Take, for example, North Carolina and Nevada. They saw individual premiums for people in their twenties rise over 150 percent after the law was enacted.

Whew, it’s been a tough week. Looking back on the last five years and all the harm ObamaCare has done to this country is a real downer. In order to head into the weekend on a slightly lighter note, let’s conclude our series with a little frivolity, the five best quotes about ObamaCare.

And the week-long spotlight on ObamaCare’s fifth anniversary keeps rolling right along! Passing the ACA was no easy feat, and Democrats had to make all sorts of outlandish promises to voters and politicians alike in order to advance the president’s government takeover of health care.

One of the features of any big government program is the inevitable catering to special interests, and exemptions for well-connected parties. ObamaCare is more egregious in this regard than most laws. As the week-long mourning of ObamaCare’s five year anniversary continues, here are the five dimensions of ObamaCare’s cronyism in action.